The success of Enola Holmes in 2020 was an unexpected feather in Netflix's cap. Originally conceived and produced as a Warner Bros. theatrical release, the Millie Bobby Brown film was sold to the streamer in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown and became a significant hit. The movie made it clear that, despite being 120 years old, the Sherlock Holmes brand continues to draw in audiences. It appears Netflix execs hope that trend continues, because its newest series, The Irregulars, is another teen-focused Sherlockian mystery. With The Irregulars' Netflix premiere date announcement and trailer here to get you pumped, the new series is just around the corner.
Fans have been treated to a spate of Sherlock Holmes adaptations over the last decade. Robert Downey Jr. played him in a comic romp; Benedict Cumberbatch did a contemporary iteration. The aforementioned Enola Holmes was a feminist take starring Sherlock's never-before-featured little sister. But The Irregulars brings two new spins to the material: a welcome diversity to Victorian London and a supernatural horror story to boot.
Based on the street urchin gang Holmes sometimes relies on as his eyes-and-ears in a few stories, The Irregulars puts these orphans front and center. Here's what to look forward to:
Netflix released the first teaser for The Irregulars on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. The synopsis for the eight-episode series is as follows:
Welcome to 19th-century London, where The Irregulars — a group of misfits — work to solve supernatural crimes at the behest of Dr. Watson and his elusive partner, Sherlock Holmes.
The full trailer followed on March 15, 2021.
The full trailer gives fans their first look at the horrors that await Bea, Jessie, Billy, Spike, and Leo, from terrifying birds to demon spirits to a rip in the world that must be healed. Fans also get their first look at Sherlock Holmes himself, and the poor dude looks like he's had a rough time of it.
The new series' gang of urchins is led by a familiar face from Netflix's family shows, with Thaddea Graham (The Letter for the King) as the gang leader Bea. Darci Shaw plays Bea's younger sister Jessie; viewers last saw her in ITV's The Bay. It also features Sex Education's Jojo Macari as Billy and Black Mirror's McKell David as Spike. Harrison Osterfield from Amazon's Catch-22 rounds out the group as gang newcomer Leopold.
Ass for the adults, there's Royce Pierreson from the popular thriller Line of Duty as Dr. Watson and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Holmes, best known for PBS' Indian Summers. Clarke Peters (The Wire) also plays a mysterious role as "The Linen Man."
The full trailer also shows a few cameos fans might recognize, including Rory McCann (Game of Thrones) and Sheila Atim (Harlots).
The Baker Street Irregulars aren't exactly notable characters in the original Holmes novels. They have interchangeable names like "Tommy" and "Timmy," dirty faces, and hungry bellies. Sherlock quietly keeps them fed as an unacknowledged charity project.
By taking these little-known characters and making them the leads, the series has room to reimagine them as a far more diverse group. Putting Bea as the group's leader also continues what Enola Holmes started, taking this male-dominated story and turning it on its head.
According to TVLine, the show's logline reads:
The series follows a gang of troubled street teens who are manipulated into solving crimes for the sinister Doctor Watson and his mysterious business partner, the elusive Sherlock Holmes. As the crimes take on a horrifying supernatural edge and a dark power emerges, it'll be up to the Irregulars to come together to save not only London but the entire world.
All eight episodes of The Irregulars will arrive on Friday, March 26, 2021.
It is unknown if Netflix means this to be a limited series or if fans should expect Season 2 if the show hits big.
